Horse Shit

originally posted on 10/29/06

So, I'm pretty much on to the really annoying poverty period, that I suppose is inevitable any time you don't get paid for 43 days. Really, there's no amount of money that works for starting out such a streak, when you are taking a lump sum to a new country. I could have brought 10 grand with me, and I am fairly certain I would still be broke now. 12 more days to payday now, I'm fairly certain I can tough it out, ghetto food style, and with the assistance of lots of PS2.

Knowing that I am broke, PS2 was exactly my plan last night. I was walking home at around 6 p.m., fully ready for hours and hours of Madden action, and I was almost there when I ran into two fellow teachers. Who, of course, said to me the 6 most deadly words in the English language for the budget minded person in Seoul – "We're going to Itaewon. Wanna come?" Arrrr. I try to refuse this invitation, but realize I have little choice. After all, pretty much the one cardinal rule for those who do not own a cell phone is that you always go along with friends that you randomly bump into when they are on their way to the bars.

Off we went, first eating at a tiny Moroccan restaurant. Basically a one-man operation. 4 tables, one guy serving and cooking. Pretty impressive restaurateur as well. By my count, this guy was either fluent or damn close to it in English, Korean, French, Spanish, and Arabic, judging by his conversations with the rest of the clientele. Cool place, overall. Meanwhile, I still know a cool two Korean phrases – hello and thank you. I don't even know the standard excuse me, but judging from what I've seen of Seoul subway etiquette, there's no need to learn it.

Anyway, so the horse mask thing in my picture (pic omitted - but it was of my and 4 others in horse masks). Maybe this is the reason that I am broke, but I simply could not-not buy one. Itaewon is the one place in Seoul that cares about Halloween, and lots of people went all out with the costumes. But, we clearly beat them all. 5 people running around the Itaewon streets and bars wearing identical horse masks. As I waffled on whether to buy one, I said to my buddy that if I did, I'd wear it today, and probably never again. His response was, uh, more like every other day. So the five of us will meet up every couple of months or so to horse around. I think we need a camera crew.